|
The
Searchers were without a record contract for one year but fortunately
Liberty Europe was founded and they were looking for artists to sign. While Umbrella Man was written by their new producer Kenny Lynch, the B-Side was a Frank Allen composition which once again showed his ability to write nice and catchy songs |
|
|
|
above: UK single
 |
above: French cover and label A-Side, below: B-Side and back side of the cover
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The
Searchers perform Umbrella Man on German TV show Beat Club
far above: rare single from Portugal, above: The US release
 |
On the left: advertisement for the New Musical Express, Melody Maker and Disc. But it didn’t help, there was hardly no airplay and it didn’t sale – the single sank without a trace although the sound was up to date – a pop song like many of that time. The Searchers themselves weren’t too proud of their new single they didn’t played it live very often.
The single didn’t chart in any country . But they tried it again on Liberty
|
|
|
Why didn’t the Searchers play their instruments on the Liberty recordings. Here’s Frank Allen’s answer (thanks to Wendy Burton) We discussed it with the producer, Kenny Young, and he thought it might give a better 'feel' and be more efficient. He could pre-arrange things the way he envisaged them and it would take less time as there wouldn`t be the need to rehearse the routines for days and days. In the end it wasn`t really a good idea. Frank |
 |
 |
|
 |
On the left you can see the German record, Liberty 15159 listing Pussy Willow Dream as B-Side. But actually the song is the same as the on the UK-version: Over The Weekend. Liberty in Munich made two mistakes: they used the title of an upcoming single instead of the correct title and they failed again by writing DREAM instead of DRAGON. Liberty Sweden printed Kinky Kathy Abernathy on the label and the cover - but the song was Over The Weekend. Well done, Liberty! |
|
 |
||
